ascites

[Guest guest]

My hepatitis C patient has really severe ascites and is worsening; in

his words

 

" I thought I should bring you up to date on my circumstances. I spent

Sunday night in the emergency room at Kaiser

Sunnyside having tests and a paracentisis performed. My kidneys are

working OK according to the tests and they drained off

about eight liters of fluid from my abdomenal cavity. So that's

significant and I'm sure you'll factor this new development into

your tea recipe. I'm not sure what this all means yet, but I do feel

twenty pounds lighter and better than I have in a year. I

hope we can keep it going. "

 

My question is whether I should continue with Chinese herbs at all for

this patient. He seems most likely to be terminal at this point.

Chinese herbs have been implicated in kidney failure and most MD's

advise against their use in chronic renal failure as a result,

preferring to err on the side of caution because of what is called

Chinese Herb Nephropathy.

 

While many of you are familiar with the chinese herb nephropathy caused

in the belgian weight loss clinics, you may be unaware that the

suspected (though pharmacologically unlikely) culprit are herbs that

contain aristolochic acid (AA). And these herbs are now banned by

several western countries. While the belgian cases involved improper

herb substitution among other things, a thorough medline search reveals

other incidents worldwide of suspected AA toxicity.

 

See the abstracts at

/CHN.abs.html

 

While my patient has definitely been helped somewhat with TCM herbs and

TCM has a long hx of treating chronic renal failure, I am in somewhat of

a quandary. However, since the patient now requires increasingly

frequent standard medical and even emergency care, etc, is it time for

me to pull out?